Alvarez could coach Wisconsin in 2013

Barry Alvarez will be looking to go 4-0 all-time in the Rose Bowl when Wisconsin battles Stanford on New Year's Day. The longtime Badgers head coach, who compiled a 118-73-4 record in 16 years as the face of the program in Madison, will be on the sideline for the January 1 game against the Cardinal after Bret Bielema elected to take the head-coaching job at Arkansas.

US PRESSWIRECould Barry Alvarez stay on as Wisconsin's head coach past the Rose Bowl?

But is Alvarez really returning for just a cameo?

The Wisconsin athletic director is seemingly having difficulty finding a replacement for Bielema, and there's growing sentiment around college football circles that Alvarez is giving some consideration to running the Badgers in 2013 with a head-coach-in-waiting in place for 2014 and beyond.

Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com noted the possibility in a Tweet on Saturday night, as a source told him that Alvarez may be “seriously tempted” to make a full-year return to the sideline.

The Badgers AD ran the program from 1990 through 2005, taking the school to three Rose Bowls.

Some big names reportedly linked to the opening, including Oregon State's Mike Riley and Miami's Al Golden, were never serious candidates for the job. And it appears that Alvarez has no interest in pushing for Paul Chryst to leave Pittsburgh after one year to come back to Madison as head coach.

Because this search is dragging on, former Badgers tight ends coach Joe Rudolph could be emerging as the best remaining candidate. He is the offensive coordinator at Pitt under Chryst. If Alvarez really isn't going to go after the Pitt head coach, Rudolph may be the best option left.

The other option for Alvarez could be to coach the team in 2013 and bring in Rudolph with the expectation that he would become head coach in 2014. That could be a scenario in which Rudolph would enjoy, but it might be more likely that Alvarez just name him head coach right away instead because Alvarez enjoys his life as an athletic director.

Email dave.miller@nationalfootballpost.com or follow me on Twitter at Miller_Dave

Welcome to National Football Post

Our mission is to provide you with the best insights and news from around the NFL and College football. Our team of insiders have been close to the game their entire careers and provide insights you won't find anywhere else. But it doesn't stop there. You are a pivotal part of our community. We have some exciting features through myNFP that we'll be releasing in the coming weeks. You can create scouting reports, build and share mock drafts, and get your take on the football world out there. Thank you for including us among the places you go to learn about the game you love.